US stocks tumble

US stocks tumbled on Monday on worries about how big a bite the global financial crisis has taken from banks' profits and fallout from an alleged hedge fund fraud scheme.

Investment manager Bernard Madoff is accused by US authorities of masterminding a $US50 billion fraud. Europe's biggest bank HSBC joined a list of top names in world finance admitting huge potential losses.

Lower US industrial production in November also weakened sentiment on the health of the overall US economy reeling from recession.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 65.15 points or 0.75% to end at 8,564.53.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 11.14 points or 1.27% to close at 868.59.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 32.38 points or 2.10% to finish at 1,508.34.